Eat, drink, and be merry in Montclair: English food (plus recipe)

English

At The Pie Store on Watchung Avenue, creating authentic English Christmas puddings and sherry trifles have been taking up the time of Samantha Codling, owner and chief baker.

"A traditional British Christmas is like your Thanksgiving, with a turkey or ham or roast beef with all the trimmings, and includes a Christmas pudding," said Codling, who hails from England and lives in Montclair. The pudding, made with mixed dried fruit, a citrus zest, breadcrumbs, brandy and brown sugar, is "common all across England," she said.

When the sixpence form of currency was still in circulation, Codling said, "it used to be we hid a sixpence inside the pudding and whoever got it, it's supposed to be good luck."

Customers have been bringing in their own glass bowls for Codling to use for her sherry trifle (pictured), another English Christmas tradition made with lady fingers, sweet sherry, a layer of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries and a rich custard that includes brandy, cream and egg yolks. Said Codling, "It's decadent, a really big dish."

- Diane Herbst

Trifle recipe

1 package Lady Fingers

1 trifle bowl (can be found at Williams-Sonoma)

Sweet sherry

Fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, cut up

Line the trifle bowl with the lady fingers. Douse them with sweet sherry. Put a layer of fresh raspberries over the lady fingers. Add the rest of the fruit.